Comelec backs early voting, internet polls

MANILA — The Commission on Elections on Saturday backed early voting for the vulnerable sector and internet voting for overseas polls.

Comelec chair George Erwin Garcia urged Congress to pass a law that would enable the nation's vulnerable sector, the elderly and PWDs, to vote at least 1 week earlier than the general population during election season — just like absentee voting.

Garcia noted that while the poll body had implemented measures to ease the problems faced by the vulnerable sector in the previous elections, he said they weren't enough.

"Hindi po sapat 'yung ganyan," Comelec chair George Erwin Garcia told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo. 

"Kaya po ang Comelec pinu-push talaga natin na pag nakatatanda, sa mga vulnerable sectors tulad ng may kapansanan... Sana po kung kakayanin ng ating Kongreso na maipasa ang isang panukalang batas na nagbibigay ng tinatawag na early voting for senior citizens and PWDs," he said.

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The Comelec chair also expressed his support for internet voting for overseas voters, citing low voter turnout abroad.

"Baka puwede silang mapayagan using the internet," Garcia said.

The poll body, he said, will hold an election summit next month with various stakeholders to gain insights about the future of elections in the Philippines. 

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